Andy Williams

Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams (3 December 1927-25 September 2012) was an American traditional pop and easy listening singer. Born in Wall Lake, Iowa, he first sang with his local Presbyterian church, and, in 1938, he and his brothers formed the Williams Brothers quartet. They sang with Bing Crosby in 1944 and appeared in several films, and he became a successful solo singer after 1953. He hosted The Andy Williams Show from 1962 to 1971, released a Christmas album in 1964, and hosted numerous TV specials, and he sold more than 100 million records worldwide. Andy Williams was close friends with Robert F. Kennedy and his family, and he was present when Kennedy was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles in 1968; he sang "Battle Hymn of the Republic" at his funeral. He also raised funds for George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign. However, he was a lifelong Republican, and he was a guest on talk shows hosted by conservative commentators Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. In 2009, he accused Barack Obama of being a Marxist and wanting the country to fail.